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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29841480">Reunions can go either way</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosa_san/pseuds/Rosa_san'>Rosa_san</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-03-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-04</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-15 22:22:14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>3,612</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29841480</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rosa_san/pseuds/Rosa_san</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Cloud is a Cetra. He was born in Nibelheim but moved to Wutai. He's friends with Tifa, Yuffie and Aerith. A slow burn with Tseng. </p>
<p>haha I suck at summaries, read to find out :D</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Angeal Hewley &amp; Cloud Strife, Cloud Strife &amp; Cloud Strife's Mother, Cloud Strife &amp; The Turks, Cloud Strife/Tseng, Genesis Rhapsodos &amp; Cloud Strife, Lazard Deusericus &amp; Cloud Strife, Rufus Shinra &amp; Cloud Strife, Sephiroth &amp; Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart &amp; Cloud Strife, Yuffie Kisaragi &amp; Cloud Strife, Zack Fair &amp; Cloud Strife, Zack Fair/Angeal Hewley/Genesis Rhapsodos/Sephiroth</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>31</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Bad memories</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The morning sun's rays shined through the window of five-year-old Cloud Strife's room and onto his eyes. Due to the disturbance, he woke up and rubbed his eyes. Sitting up, he stretched and yawned before getting ready for the day. </p><p>When he got downstairs, Cloud found his favourite mother in the world (not that he had any others) setting up the table for breakfast. Happily, he greeted his mother with much enthusiasm. </p><p>"Morning Ma!"</p><p>His mother laughed at the antics of her only child. "Good morning, Stormcloud. Breakfast is ready, come and eat." She smiled as she watched Cloud eat with gusto. She hoped her little ray of sunshine would never dim, be it because of the other adult villagers' distrust due to her not being from Nibelheim, or the villagers' children's scorn because of his friendship with Tifa, the Mayor's daughter. </p><p>As she stood up to collect the dirty dishes, Cloud looked at her with bright blue puppy eyes and asked "Ma, can I go explore the mountains with Tifa?"</p><p>Thinking it over, she reasoned that Cloud wouldn't be alone and that if there was an emergency, one of them could quickly run to the village. "Alright then. Just don't go past the safe zone and be back by lunch, alright?"</p><p>Positively beaming, Cloud enthusiastically nodded and quickly got dressed in clothes suitable for a nice walk near the bottom of the mountains. </p><p>__________________________________</p><p>While heading towards the water tower that had practically become both his and Tifa's very own equivalent of a treehouse, Cloud was bouncing with joy to be allowed to explore the mountains with his best (and only) friend. </p><p>Spotting five-year-old Tifa already seated beside the water tank of the tower, he called out to her. "Morning Tif!"</p><p>Perking up at the sound of her favourite person in the village of Nibelheim, she replied just as excitedly "Morning Cloudy!"</p><p>Climbing down the ladder which led to the water tank of the only water tower in the small village, she excitedly asked "You ready?"</p><p>"Of course I am!" Cloud replied. </p><p>"Ready for what?" came an unexpected voice at the same time. </p><p>They turned towards the south of the water tower and saw nine-year-olds Noah, Henri and Elias as their 'leader'. Cloud frowned slightly. He didn't like those three at all. Whenever they happened to be alone, they always bullied Cloud because they had crushes on Tifa and resented the fact that he was the closest to Tifa.</p><p>Tifa, the amiable person that she was, beamed without hesitation, "We're gonna go explore the mountains!"</p><p>Elias' eyes lit up at being spoken to by his crush and immediately asked, "Oh! Can we come along?"</p><p>"Well sure! The more, the merrier!" Impatient from being delayed, Tifa started for the mountains, "Come on! Come on, slow pokes!"</p><p>Not wanting to be left behind, the other children quickly caught up with her. Whispering amongst themselves, Elias and his little gang, consisting of Noah and Henri, stayed slightly behind Cloud and Tifa, who were wide eyed with awe at the pretty surroundings.</p><p>"Oh Cloud! Can we go see the pretty plants you made? Please?" Turning to look at Tifa, Cloud saw her pouting with big wide wine-red eyes. </p><p>Unable to resist her puppy dog eyes (not that he would have refused a chance to check on his plants), Cloud gave in and fondly smiled, "How many times do I have to say it? I don't make them, I just plant and care for them."</p><p>Regardless, he dutifully led them to his 'pretty green wonderland', as Tifa had once called it. Cloud had recently planted some new plants that he couldn't wait to show Tifa. </p><p>"Wow! There's even more now! We could probably even play hide-and-seek here!" Tifa's eyes were practically glimmering with amazement at this point. </p><p>"Well, that doesn't sound like a bad idea…" Noah chimed. </p><p>"Yeah! I think it'll be fun! What do you think Elias?" Henri added excitedly. </p><p>"Yeah! It sounds like fun! Let's do it! I wanna be the seeker first!" Elias declared. </p><p>"Alright!" With that, the children quickly scattered and hid while Elias counted down. Cloud, being intimately familiar with the area, was unsurprisingly the last to be found. In the middle of the seventh round, after being found, Tifa told the seeker, Elias, that she needed to go home and to carry on the game without her. Bidding her goodbye, Elias smiled. They could finally put their plan into action. </p><p>Finding Henri and Noah, the trio set off to sniff out Cloud. Spotting him behind a plant near the medium sized ice cold lake, Elias smugly smirked and sauntered towards him. </p><p>Realising he'd been found, Cloud stepped out from behind the plant, only to realize that Tifa wasn't amongst the group. Warily, as he was all alone with them, he asked, "Where's Tifa?"</p><p>The boys smiled cruelly as Elias came closer until he was just in front of Cloud, breaching his personal space but not quite close enough to touch without having to reach out with his hand. In the most demeaning voice, like Elias was a king while he was a small irritating and useless insect, Cloud has ever heard within his short five years of life, Elias said, "She went home, but, it's not like it matters. After all, you will not be seeing her after this. We won't allow you to."</p><p>Wide eyed with shock, Cloud was stock-still when Elias took out a small bottle and splashed it's contents at him. </p><p>The bright green mako slashed and Cloud immediately shut his eyes tightly but it was too late. The telltale burning sensations had started and he screamed loudly at the excruciating pain. </p><p>Hearing Henri tsk, Cloud got much more afraid and rightly so, "God! Shut him up! He's gonna cause an avalanche!"</p><p>"I think you're right! Haha, IN YOU GO!" Cloud could practically taste the cruelty in Elias' voice. All of a sudden, he was pushed and the feeling of cold and wet encompassed Cloud's body. </p><p>It was only when his skin started turning numb that Cloud realised he had been pushed into the lake near his garden and started struggling. But it was too late, if he got out of the water, he'd freeze within hours in the best case scenario. On the other hand, if he stayed in the water, his limbs would get completely numb and he'd drown, a faster death but no chance of survival. 'Well, unless Elias and his friends change their minds that is.' Cloud thought bitterly. </p><p>Mustering up what little strength he had, Cloud dragged himself out of the water, only to find out that he wasn't anywhere near his precious garden. </p><p>Cloud was about to try and stand when he heard a low growl. His blood ran cold and he froze, not from the freezing temperatures, but, from fear.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. A bad sign</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mrs Strife glanced worriedly at the small and old, but still usable, clock for the umpteenth time. Cloud was late for lunch when he'd never been before and she was worried. It wasn't like him to be late. Finally coming to a decision, she decided to see if Tifa was at home and ask about her little sunshine. </p><p>Stepping out the door, she single-mindedly headed for Mayor Lockhart's residence. Standing on the porch of the house, she took a deep breath to calm down and knocked on the door. The sound echoed in her ears and it felt like she had waited an eternity for Mayor Lockhart to answer the door. Taking another deep breath, she asked, "Is Tifa there? Cloud hasn't come home yet and he's never late. I'm really worried about him."</p><p>"She's already home. I'll go get her." With that, the Mayor of Nibelheim shut the door and retreated into his house. </p><p>What felt like hours was in all likelihood only a few minutes, the door opened and Mr Lockhart was on the opposite side with his daughter. </p><p>Taking a steadying breath, Mrs Strife asked, "Hello Tifa, can I ask where is Cloud?"</p><p>Tifa tilted her head in a confused manner and replied, "When I left they were still playing hide-and-seek in his garden with Elias, Henri and Noah. And I just saw Elias and his friends in town from my window. So, shouldn't Cloud be home already?"</p><p>Mrs Strife felt dread pool in her stomach, she remembered the day Cloud had come home with bruises everywhere on his body and named the cause as Elias and his friends. </p><p>Mr Lockhart, seeing that Mrs Strife was frozen, spoke up, "Well, let's go to this garden and look for him. He may have stayed there."</p><p>__________________________________</p><p>Oh no no no. He was going to die here, wasn't he? After all, he didn't have the energy to stand, let alone the energy to run away from a predator. His eyes welled up with tears, making them sting from the combination of the mako and his tears. </p><p>He didn't want to die yet. He was yet to accomplish his dream of traveling and seeing everything Gaia had to offer. </p><p>The creature that had growled was getting closer. He knew because he could hear footsteps getting louder and louder. He cried harder. </p><p>This is it. I'm gonna die. I'm sorry Ma, I couldn't keep my promise. I'm sorry Tifa, I can't show anymore pretty flora like I promised. All of a sudden, he felt warm, fuzzy fur next to him. The creature had cuddled him and was keeping him warm. He let out a sob of relief and thankfulness. He wasn't going to die immediately but chances were, he was still going to freeze to death. So, he cuddled the creature back. The creature could keep him warm and death would come for him slower, increasing the chances of someone finding him before he dies. </p><p>__________________________________</p><p>Cloud was starting to see black at the edges of his vision. He was starting to black out. Getting scared, his breathing increased, alerting the creature next to him that something was wrong. The creature whined and nudged him with a cold, wet nose. Against all logic, it helped him calm down and slowly his breathing returned to normal. </p><p>It didn't change the fact that he was close to passing out, but it made him more at peace. </p><p>Footsteps. There were footsteps coming from somewhere. Desperate for help, he yelled out. He couldn't tell what he had yelled, that wasn't a good sign. But it didn't matter, the footsteps got faster and louder. Whoever was there had heard him and they were coming to help. </p><p>"Cloud! Oh dear Gaia! We need to get you a doctor immediately! Oh no, how are we going to get that wolf pup away?" Hearing the voice of his mother caused relief to wash over him. </p><p>Registering her last comment, he panicked, she was going to take away his new friend. "Nonono! Don't take him away! He helped me! Please don't take him away!" He cried. </p><p>It was then that he ran out of energy and fainted from exhaustion. </p><p>__________________________________</p><p>"Cloud!" Mrs Strife called out. Oh Gaia. Her little sunshine had fainted! Reaching out for her son, it was then that the wolf pup moved to stand protectively in between Cloud and his mother. </p><p>Understandably upset, she spoke softly, "Please move, little pup. Cloud needs medical attention. We just want to help him."</p><p>The wolf seemed to understand what she had said and moved out of the way. Mr Lockhart, being the strongest person amongst the three, moved to pick up Cloud. Looking at the pup, Mrs Strife opened her arms and asked, "Do you want to come along? I know you're worried too." With a single glance, the pup hopped into her arms. The group then hurried into town.</p><p>__________________________________</p><p>Cloud found it hard to open his eyes and when he managed it, startlingly bright white lights shined from above and directly into his eyes. Hissing from the pain, he failed to notice the figures beside him move. </p><p>"Cloud! You're awake! Doctor! He's awake!" Wow, had his mother always sounded so loud? </p><p>Then there was a wet tongue licking his hand. It was so ticklish, he couldn't resist giggling. </p><p>"Cloud, are you alright?" The voice sounded younger than his mother's. It was definitely Tifa. </p><p>"Heya Tif. I think I'm okay. Though, the light's pretty bright."</p><p>"Hm. That might be because of the mako. You're lucky, you know? Most people your age wouldn't survive getting splashed or be in a coma." Ah, there's the doctor. </p><p>"I need to test your senses to see if there are any adverse effects of the mako. Is that alright with you?" What's with all these questions, he was getting tired from just answering them. </p><p>"Yeah." </p><p>"Okay. We'll do it tomorrow. For now, get some rest."</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. A new beginning</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I'm so sorry. This chapter was so late ≥﹏≤ <br/>But, here you go! (ﾉ*&gt;∀&lt;)ﾉ□</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"Well, it seems that there aren't any bad side effects from the mako, instead, his senses are sharper and he's slightly faster and stronger."</p><p>"Oh thank you Doctor! That's a huge relief!"</p><p>Huh. Well that explains why Ma sounds louder than usual, Cloud thought as stroked his wolf's fur. </p><p>"Yes, but please stay out of trouble, you might not be as lucky next time Cloud."</p><p>"Not planning to get into any Doc."</p><p>"Good, I hereby discharge you. Just sign a few papers and you can go home."</p><p>__________________________________</p><p>"Cloud dear, how do you..What do you think of moving to Wutai?"</p><p>"...will I still be able to talk to Tifa?" Cloud wasn't surprised that his mother wished to move. Though, he was afraid that he wouldn't be able to talk to his only friend ever again. </p><p>"Yes dearest, you can write letters to her," Ms Strife smiled, "It'd be a shame if you couldn't. The two of you are such great friends."</p><p>Cloud was silent for a few minutes as he mulled it over. "I think… it'll be nice. I wanna travel the world anyways, and no one said I couldn't start early!"</p><p>Ms Strife was glad her little sunshine was still able to be optimistic. "Alright then, we're leaving in two weeks time. We'll start packing tomorrow and don't forget to break the news to Tifa! You don't wanna make her upset when you leave suddenly!"</p><p>"Can we bring Fenrir along?" Tifa had definitely rubbed off on Cloud, she mused, as he was using Tifa's famous puppy eyes. </p><p>"Is that what you're naming him?" Ms Strife asked. </p><p>Cloud made a noise of agreement and hugged Fenrir closer. </p><p>__________________________________</p><p>"Write to me as soon as you can! I wanna know about Wutai and your journey, Cloudy!"</p><p>"I got it, Tif!" Cloud yelled back as the car started moving. They were catching a ride on the postman's truck. His route passed through Wutai and he was okay with them hitching a ride. </p><p>Cloud felt excited and yet, nervous at the same time. What if the people there were just like Elias and his friends? Cloud thinks that he'd be really upset and hurt because no one liked him. </p><p>His mother had only a brief glance at his expression before she started speaking. Was she that good at reading him or was he such an open book? </p><p>"Stormcloud, it's going to be alright. The people there are really nice and I highly doubt that they'd shun you for having only me as your parent." And wow, his mother really knew how to get to the root of the problem quickly. </p><p>"Really? You think so?"</p><p>"Of course, my child. But, if they so much as think of bullying you, they'll have to pass through me first!"</p><p>Her reply earned a warm giggle from him. </p><p>__________________________________</p><p>"Stormcloud, wake up! We're here," her voice flooded his ears. Groggily, he rubbed his eyes as he registered her words. </p><p>Shooting upright, Cloud accidentally startled Fenrir and apprehensively asked, "We're here already?"</p><p>And there it was. The seriousness her son had. The maturity one was only supposed to gain when they were older, not at the age of five. Cloud was already mature for his age, but further developed as a result of the dislike of the villagers with the exceptions of the Lockhart family. Truly, it was sad how such old fashioned beliefs could cause such a young child to suffer so much. Regardless, Ms Strife reassured her dearest child.</p><p>"Yes, dear. Are you still worried? I'm sure the people here aren't as old fashioned but there's only one way to find out."</p><p>"You're right! Let's go!"</p><p>It was obvious to her that he was still nervous but this time, there was a lick of hope and excitement. Thinking of a way to distract him from his nerves, Ms Strife opened the truck's door, "Well, let's go unpack then, shall we? </p><p>Hearing Cloud hum in agreement and footfalls behind her, she smiled to herself as she went towards the back of the truck to retrieve the boxes of items belonging to them. </p><p>__________________________________</p><p>"Alright, everything's been unpacked! Hmm, Cloud why don't you go make some friends? I can take it from here." hearing his mother say those words with such a kind expression, Cloud couldn't help but agree. </p><p>"O-okay!" he'd stuttered a little in his response but his mother heard it and comforted him once again. </p><p>"Cloud, it's going to be okay. The people here won't hate you just because you only have one parent. So go out there and make some friends!" reassured by her words, Cloud took a deep breath and stepped outside, making sure to close the door before Fenrir got out. It'd be bad if Fenrir gave someone a fright. </p><p>Nothing bad happened, but now, he was kind of lost and didn't know what to do. So, he decided to walk around and explore the area. </p><p>__________________________________</p><p>It was at the park nearby that he saw a small group of children around his age. Well, it was more like the group saw him first, but, same difference. </p><p>The tallest, and likely the oldest of the group, a boy with black hair pulled back into a low ponytail waved at him yelling, "Hey! Over here!"</p><p>He was afraid, but his mother was right. How would he know that they hated him if he avoided them? They might like him and be his friend! With some new-found confidence, he approached the group of children. </p><p>The boy who called him over was much taller up close. In fact, the boy was one head taller than Cloud. The group of children smiled at him while the boy introduced himself, "Hi! I'm Tseng! I've never seen you around before. Are you new here?"</p><p>Well, he supposed it was a good sign that none of the children in the group seemed to hate him yet. Cloud smiled back at the group. "Hi! My name's Cloud! I just moved here."</p><p>"Oh cool! It's nice to meet you! Let me introduce my friends! This is Kozue, " he pointed at a girl with long dark chocolate brown hair, who was slightly taller than Cloud, "And this is Akira." Tseng pointed at a boy who looked remarkably similar to Kozue. He too had long hair. "Oh, they're twins, by the way." </p><p>"Hey, hey. How old are you Cloud? We might be in the same class!" Kozue asked. Although she probably didn't mean to strike a nerve, Cloud couldn't help but feel upset. He was never able to study at the only school in Nibelheim. Partly because of the prejudice, but also because his mother couldn't afford it. He didn't blame his mother, don't get him wrong. She had done her best to teach him between her ridiculous work hours. </p><p>His face must have shown something because Kozue immediately back paddled. "Did I say something wrong? I'm so sorry!"</p><p>"Oh no no no!" he tried to reassure, "It's just that I can't speak the local language. I can't even read…" he trailed off after he realized what he'd just blurted out. </p><p>"Oh, well we can teach you!"</p><p>"Wh-what?" Cloud hadn't expected that response. He'd thought they'd look down on him like the kids in Nibelheim did. He found himself relieved. They didn't hate, not at all. </p><p>"Well yeah! We'll all teach you!" Akira spoke up. </p><p>Cloud thinks he might be crying from the kindness he was being shown. "Ok, thank you so much."</p><p>"Hey! You still didn't answer! How old are you?" Kozue pouted. </p><p>It was obvious that she was trying to distract him. But, it was working so, who was he to complain? He giggled at her. It didn't look like such an expression fit on her. "Well, I'm five."</p><p>"Ooh! You're one year younger than us!"</p><p>__________________________________</p><p>Cloud knocked on his front door before opening it. He now had knowledge of basic Wutainese like greetings and numbers. He spotted his mother and cheerfully greeted her in Wutaiese while he petted Fenrir, who was beside the door. "I'm home, Ma!"</p><p>His mother smiled, "I see you made some friends."</p><p>"Yep! Tseng, Kozue and Akira!" Cloud excitedly listed off. </p><p>At this point, his mother was beaming, "Alright! Dinner will be ready in an hour!"</p><p>"Ok! I'm gonna write to Tifa!" with that, he headed upstairs with Fenrir in tow. </p><p>__________________________________</p><p>Closing the door of his room after he finished cleaning his dirty dishes, he couldn't help but feel satisfied. He had been able to make new friends, finish writing his letter to Tifa and mailed it. </p><p>I'm so glad, Ma decided to move here. He thought as he petted Fenrir. The people in Wutai were really nice and kind as he had discovered earlier with his friends. Wutai's a really nice place, his last thought before he fell asleep on his new bed.</p>
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